Transcending Time
by queenoffolly
Summary: Yusei Fudo realizes he's stuck in the past, in the world of Duel Academy, during the time where Judai Yuki vies for King of Games. A run-in at the local cafe near Duel Academy leaves Yusei wanting answers, and Judai offers to help Yusei through this foreign time. Can Yusei get back to his own time - or will he forsake it all for an unprecedented love that awakens between them?
1. I'm a Barista?

_Floating, falling… But wait, there's a light far into the distance… Must…press…onward…_

The door to the café swings open, and Yusei strides towards the counter, flattening the front of his work apron. _Wait,_ work _apron? Do I…work_ here?

As if on autopilot, Yusei leaps over the counter, earning a nasty glare from his manager. "What? It saves time," he explains, pulling his visor down as he reaches for some latex gloves. _How do I even know where the gloves are? I've never worked here before…_

By now, Yusei's come to the conclusion that apparently, not only does he work in this dingy café, under some sour-puss manager, but that he's been working here for quite some time, judging by the occasional waves from various patrons seated in the café. Moreover, the outfits of the customers seem to be strangely… _foreign_ to him. _Foreign? If this is my life, why does everything feel so…alien?_

Lost in thought, Yusei suddenly jerks back to reality, thanks to an obnoxiously-close hand waving mere inches in front of his face. He slaps the hand away, only to realize with chagrin that the offending hand belongs to a patron of the café. _Uh oh…_

Expecting the worst, Yusei is surprised to find in the eyes of the stranger a sort of optimistic twinkling, an implicit understanding of Yusei's abrupt actions. The stranger is a young man, a brunet with a red jacket (not unlike the red jackets he sees scattered on the shoulders of other café customers) and rich auburn eyes.

Yusei knows what he's supposed to say next: _Welcome! Would you like to try our new caramel macchiato?_ But instead, he blurts out, "I'm lost." As the words spill out, he tries to cover his mouth, as if to trap the words back inside, never to leave.

Yusei stares wide-eyed at the stranger as he belts out laughing. _Well, this wasn't what I was expecting._ Then, the stranger says, "No worries, man. Let's grab a table so I can help you out." He smiles kindly back at Yusei, and pivots on his heel to seek out an empty table for two.

As the stranger walks away, Yusei can only stare after him dumbfounded, wondering what exactly he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

"I'm Judai, a student at the Duel Academy. But you should know that, since you go there too, Yusei!" Judai chirps brightly, tilting his head slightly to gauge the other's reaction.

"How do you even know my name? Ugh, my head hurts," muses Yusei, reconsidering whether this was even a good idea at all to ask a stranger for help on his… _odd_ predicament. He supposed it was good fortune that the stranger at least was a fellow student like himself. Holding his head in his hands, he closed his eyes, trying to think as far back as he could recall. He remembered walking into the café…but what about before that?

Suddenly, images pummel his senses all at once: a garage; speeding down the highway; a beautiful dragon made of stardust…

 _I don't belong here. This isn't my time._

"Uhhh…say what?" asks Judai, a puzzled expression lingering on his features. Yusei starts, then realizes he had spoken aloud his thoughts.

"I'm from what you might call the future. I know that sounds weird but… I don't know how I got here, but I just wanna go back to where I came from…god my head hurts…" Yusei trails off, massaging his temples with the heels of his hands.

While Judai was skeptical of Yusei's words, he couldn't help but sense they were coming from a genuine place inside the other man, as if he believed in the validity of his own words. Armed with this information, Judai comes to a decision.

"Alright, bud, let's head back to where I bunk. I don't know where you're assigned a bunk at Duel Academy, but let's see if you can't sleep near me for tonight. I have a feeling you have a lot to say on where you come from, so it might be more convenient for you to just bunk near me tonight," Judai gives him a gentle wink before standing up, lightly nudging Yusei to do the same.

Yusei glances up at Judai before resigning himself to his fellow classmate's proposition. At any rate, finding a place to sleep tonight was of critical importance, and even better if his tour guide to this past world was bunking nearby.

As he follows Judai, Yusei hopes fervently that he can find his way back home to his own time.

* * *

Hi, all! Just some notes on this fic:

 **Pairing(s):** Judai Yuki x Yusei Fudo  
 **Universe:** AU where time travel is a thing  
 **Disclaimers:** Lots of OOC-ness, fluff becomes abundant eventually, slightly PWP, and features a boy-boy romance. Don't like, don't read.  
Also, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS - they belong to Kazuki Takahashi, not me.

Thanks for reading!


	2. I'm Yusei Mido?

Yusei sat at the desk by the window, twirling the ends of his hair lazily while gazing out at the night sky. He closed his eyes drowsily, fighting back sleep, trying to make sense of the day that had just elapsed. For a moment he started, taking a peek out of the corner of his eye to check if his bunkmate was asleep. Yusei was relieved to see Judai across the room lying on the top bunk with his eyes closed, his breathing deep and languid. Satisfied, Yusei turned back to the window, smiling gently as he thought back on the crazy day he'd just had.

* * *

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you arranging for me to sleep somewhere tonight. Thanks for kicking out your bunkmate on such short notice," Yusei said, throwing a playful wink Judai's way.

Judai smirked coyly and shrugged. "It's really no problem! And you don't have to feel guilty at all, he totally understands. Besides, he gets to bunk with someone in Obelisk Blue, which is super ritzy compared to this place, so he's ecstatic!" Yusei saw him roll his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Sheesh, it was like pulling teeth to convince you that he didn't mind sleeping elsewhere at Duel Academy for a couple of days!"

"Well, I just feel really bad for imposing on you like this," Yusei fiddled nervously with the collar of his newly-minted Slifer Red uniform. "But I was really worried about being surrounded by people I didn't even know in an unfamiliar place. As nice as Obelisk Blue might be, I didn't know what kind of impression I'd made on everyone else at my dorm, or how they expected me to act. After all, they know me better than I know myself, or should I say "Yusei Mido"." He ran his hand through his own hair, closing his eyes for a moment. _Man, what a weird-sounding name!_

Judai chuckled and stood up from the table they were seated at. "Yup! Yusei Mido, second-best duelist at Duel Academy, my arch rival who used to be a complete asshole to me!" He gave Yusei a knowing smile from across the room.

"Damn, what kind of shit did I put you through before?" Yusei rose to follow Judai, placing his hands into his front pockets.

"Well, you didn't hurt me or anything, but you definitely made me doubt myself many a time while dueling. You're pretty good at manipulating my emotions when you want to," Judai grinned. Yusei thought it odd that he would be reminiscing so fondly over such un-sportsmanlike conduct. Especially when it happened during a duel!

"Man, sounds like I was a total jackass back then. I'm sorry for planting those seeds of doubt in your head. You didn't deserve that – I can see that now." Yusei turned to Judai, hoping he could be forgiven.

Instead, his words backfired as Judai rounded on him. "What is that supposed to mean? Does anybody really deserve to feel self-doubt at the hands of their opponent in a duel?" Judai stared him down, and for a moment Yusei felt a sort of panic arise in his chest.

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Yusei gasped out. "Obviously no one deserves to feel that way. But I mean, sometimes people who are arrogant need a taste of their own medicine. People tend to get too wrapped up in themselves to realize others have feelings too." He stepped hesitantly towards Judai, hoping to bridge the chasm he just created between them. "But you, you're just so kind and affectionate… I mean, here I was, completely lost behind the counter of a café, someone who once heckled you during competition… and yet, you didn't hesitate to help me." Yusei gave him a gentle smile, and was rewarded with a small grin from Judai.

Waves of relief washed over Yusei as he saw Judai's eyes light up again – or was that the gleam of sunlight reflecting in them from the nearby window? He couldn't tell, but all he knew for sure was that he felt so comforted, so at home in those eyes. The auburn eyes melded beautifully with the burnt orange of the sunset pouring in, and Yusei found he couldn't tear his gaze away. Finally, he turned to look out the window, watching as the sun descended below the horizon. A question was prickling at him that he wanted answered.

"What was it that made you so eager to help me? How did you even know what my dilemma was?" Yusei glanced back at Judai, searching in his eyes for some sort of hint.

"It was easy to figure out. You usually look so sure of yourself, but today it just looked like you were in a daze. Like your arms and legs were going through the motions, but your head was in a different place." Judai quirked his brow a bit. "You're never the type to admit weakness or fault. So when you said you were lost, I knew I was dealing with a different Yusei." Yusei thought he saw Judai's cheeks flush slightly before he began again, but decided he'd probably imagined it. "Speaking of which, what do you remember from the world you came from?"

 _Oh god, where do I even start?_ He straightened a bit before responding, squinting as he strained to remember his past – or rather, future – life. "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm a duelist in my world, too. It feels natural to strategize and compete in some sort of pursuit, and dueling is such a deeply personal yet competitive endeavor. A lot of it's in your mind, which is something that really appeals to me. But you also learn a lot about your opponent in the process. I have a feeling I had friends I dueled with, too. But faces and names are fuzzy. Although oddly enough, I'm pretty sure that I met you before, but in my world instead of yours." Judai's eyes widened at his last remark.

"Really? What makes you think that?" Yusei was taken aback at the sudden prodding. He thought for a moment.

"I think it's how quickly I accepted your help that gets to me. I'm in this completely alien realm, and to place my trust so immediately in someone else makes me consider the possibility that either I've met you before, or that we were supposed to…" Yusei trailed off. Thinking about the intricacies of time and of traveling to different time periods was so surreal – sometimes he'd vaguely wonder if he didn't just dream it all. But something about this prior life felt so real…

Judai nodded, sitting down gently in the recliner near the table. "I understand. But as for me, I don't really remember anything other than this life I'm in right now!" He laid back, putting his feet up before folding his hands behind his head. "And it confuses the hell out of me that you're suddenly so warm and kind to me! It's so weird." Judai let out a little chuckle. "Don't get me wrong, I really like this new Yusei. Like, this blows me away – I never thought in my wildest dreams you'd call me 'kind and affectionate'!" He looked down at the floor at the moment, smiling as if he were remembering some inside joke. Yusei was dying to know what he was thinking. "But to be frank, I'm a little worried that once you get back to your world, Yusei Mido will return to his old scheming self. And I kinda like the new and improved Yusei better." Judai looked back up at Yusei, the sincerity in his words hitting Yusei like a truck. _Talk about being blown away…_

Yusei was in a trance, captivated equally by Judai's appearance – his slightly disheveled hair, splayed out against the head of the recliner, like a halo of mahogany encircling his crown; the way the corner of his mouth upturned slightly, as if he were ready at any time to playfully wink – and by his heartfelt admission.

Before Yusei could recover, Judai abruptly rose from the recliner. "I'm headed to bed pretty soon, and you look exhausted, no offense. You should try and get some shut-eye. Tomorrow we can walk around a bit and see if any clues from your world pop up. Otherwise, I don't have much of a plan for how we can try and get ya back home…" Judai seemed disheartened even as he was speaking, and it pained Yusei to see his discontent.

"Don't even worry about it," Yusei grinned down at Judai as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've helped me out so much today – I can't thank you enough for what you've done. Maybe we can sleep on it and put our heads together tomorrow. See what we come up with." Yusei winked at him, hoping to cheer Judai up. _He's rubbing off on me, with all this winking._

It worked, and Judai smiled. "Thanks. See ya tomorrow! Sleep well!" He bounded off to bed with an energy Yusei could never hope to match, or at least without the aid of caffeine.

Yusei heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know he'd been holding his breath till now.

* * *

The sky glimmered with the twinkling of the stars, a sight Yusei was not quite used to. From what he could remember of his world, stargazing was not a common leisure activity, but he couldn't recall why that was. Was it dangerous to be out at night? Or did he live in the city, where pollution and smog obstructed the view of the heavens?

Yusei was so absorbed by the beauty of the night sky that he didn't hear Judai awaken and creep out of his bed to the desk where he now sat. It was only when he felt warm breath nuzzling against his ear that he realized Judai was awake.

"Hey, night owl, you better head to bed. You'll hate me tomorrow when I wake you up at the crack of dawn to go clue-hunting for remnants of your world." Yusei smirked at being scolded, but couldn't help groaning a bit.

"Oh god, you're an early bird. Kill me now," Yusei said, feigning being stabbed in the chest, choking a bit and closing his eyes for effect. He squinted to see Judai's reaction.

Judai rolled his eyes at this, and gently squeezed his shoulder. "Get over it, drama queen. Save your energy for tomorrow." With that, he turned and headed back to the top bunk where he had been sleeping before.

Yusei gently poked his shoulder, which now felt a bit chilly without Judai's caress. "First night owl, now drama queen? I'm really feeling the love over here!" Yusei followed Judai to the bunk bed, but not before catching a mischievous wink from Judai's direction.

* * *

A/N: Just some notes, and the usual disclaimers.

Sorry for the tense change between chapters. When I wrote the first chapter a month ago, present tense seemed to come more naturally to me, so that's how I initially intended to write the entire fic. However, the second chapter needed the past tense from my perspective, so I'll go back and change the first chapter to past tense for consistency's sake.

 **Pairing(s):** Judai Yuki x Yusei Fudo  
 **Universe:** AU where time travel is a thing and Yusei ends up in the world of GX  
 **Disclaimers:** Lots of OOC-ness, fluff becomes abundant eventually, slightly PWP, and features a boy-boy romance. Also, some cursing (i.e. usage of a deity's name in vain). Don't like, don't read.  
Also, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS - they belong to Kazuki Takahashi, not me.

Thanks for reading!


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